Deirdre Anderson

Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of work

This article examines an unanticipated consequence of adopting flexible working practices — that of work intensification. Based on a study of professional workers and in line with other studies, we present evidence showing that flexible workers record higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than their non-flexible counterparts. However, we also report evidence of work intensification being experienced by both those who work reduced hours and those who work remotely. We identify three means by which this intensification occurs — imposed intensification, enabled intensification and intensification as an act of reciprocation or exchange. We argue that the apparent paradox of high job satisfaction and organizational commitment, alongside work intensification can be explained by employees trading flexibility for effort. Using social exchange theory we propose that employees respond to the ability to work flexibly by exerting additional effort, in order to return benefit to their employer.

Women partners leaving the firm: Choice, what choice?

Purpose – This paper is based on the experiences of 31 women who have recently left partner roles within an international management consultancy firm. The purpose of this paper is to explore discursively their perceptions of choice within their decisions to leave.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 31 women using semi‐structured telephone interviews, a 66 per cent response rate. A discursive approach to analysis was adopted.Findings – The decision to leave is the culmination of many interacting factors at a time when a financial incentive for resignation is available. Findings present here focus on discourses of loyalty to and affection for the company and work‐life integration.Research limitations/implications – Limitations include access only to women who have left the firm, allowing for no comparison with those who were still partners. Additionally, we were unable to speak to any of the male partners who have left the firm in the same timescales, although in smaller proportions.Pract...

Public sector austerity cuts in Britain and the changing discourse of work–life balance

The relative importance of economic and other motives for employers to provide support for work–life balance (WLB) is debated within different literatures. However, discourses of WLB can be sensitive to changing economic contexts. This article draws on in-depth interviews with senior human resources professionals in British public sector organizations to examine shifting discourses of WLB in an austerity context. Three main discourses were identified: WLB practices as organizationally embedded amid financial pressures; WLB practices as a strategy for managing financial pressures; and WLB as a personal responsibility. Despite a discourse of mutual benefits to employee and employer underpinning all three discourses, there is a distinct shift towards greater emphasis on economic rather than institutional interests of employers during austerity, accompanied by discursive processes of fixing, stretching, shrinking and bending understandings of WLB. The reconstructed meaning of WLB raises concerns about its continued relevance to its original espoused purpose.

Individual-level foci of identification at work: A systematic review of the literature

This paper presents a systematic literature review of individual-level targets (or foci) of identification, that is, the bases by which one derives a sense of self as a unique being in the context of work. We reviewed 253 articles from over 30 top management journals between 2005 and 2016. In examining foci types, definitions, underpinning theoretical and philosophical assumptions, we catalogue nine categories of individual-level identification foci (manager, leader, follower, team, organization, occupation-specific, professional, career and work), finding a dominance of functionalist meta-theoretical orientations (comprising over half the sample, with interpretivist approaches comprising about a third of studies). Further, we enhance construct clarity in the field; we identify conceptual challenges with extant definitions of key foci, and offer integrative definitions by specifying scope conditions for each identity focus and semantic relationships between various identity foci. We contextualize our discussion of construct clarity to different research orientations in the field and offer possibilities for theoretical developments therein. Third, we offer an integrative framework for positioning work in the field by scope of interest (identity content or context) and identity construction assumptions (stable or evolving), suggesting directions for future research.

Women’s Leadership Development Programs Lessons Learned and New Frontiers

The quest to develop talent across all workforce segments coupled with the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in organizations across the globe has led to increasing demand for women’s leadership development programs (WLDPs) over recent years. This special issue, titled Women’s Leadership Development Programs: Lessons Learned and New Frontiers, considers the use of these programs to foster transformational change (Anderson, Vinnicombe, & Singh, 2008; Debebe, 2011; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2002, 2003; Bilimoria, Joy, & Liang, 2008; Bilimoria & Liang, 2012; Ely & Meyerson, 2000; Fletcher, 2004). In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of transformational learning and change at the individual and organizational levels and go on to highlight five key themes in the literature on women’s leadership programs, identifying some of the questions and issues that motivated this special issue. We then provide a description of each article included in the special issue before concluding with some thoughts on fruitful directions for future research on women’s leadership programs.

Flexible working and engagement: the importance of choice

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to report findings from a major study into flexible working and to examine the link with employee engagement.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted within seven case organizations using a mixed method of semi‐structured interviews and an electronic questionnaire.Findings – The findings show that flexible working has an impact on employee engagement through a positive relationship with organizational commitment, job satisfaction and employee discretionary behavior.Practical implications – Allowing employees a degree of choice over when, where and how much work they do has benefits for the organization. However, for these gains to be realized, support is needed for the implementation of a flexible working policy.Originality/value – The study included both quantitative and qualitative data and examined the impact of flexible working from the point of view of managers and co‐workers of flexible workers, as well as those who worked flexibly themselves.

Women Only Leadership Development: A Conundrum

In its only concession to affirmative action, the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 made a provision for women only training programmes. In 1986 British Telecommunications led the way in the corporate world by introducing a two-week residential programme with Cranfield School of Management for women managers facing the glass ceiling. The programme ran three times a year for 13 years. Today most major organisations committed to diversity have a women’s management programme in their training portfolio. In the 90s Cranfield pioneered two public programmes for women managers — a leadership programme and a management development one. In only the last few years have other major business schools, like Harvard, Insead and IMD, followed suit by introducing programmes for women managers/leaders. The availability of so many programmes, however, has not dampened the debate on whether women need women only management development. In this chapter we review the lack of women in leadership, and the challenges faced by women on MBA programmes. We then look at the nature of women’s careers and women’s development. We argue the case for women only development and conclude with a case study of a programme we ran for our cohort of female MBA students in 2007.

Expanding the Notion of Dialogic Trading Zones for Impactful Research: The Case of Women on Boards Research

Debates about research impact highlight the importance of involving practitioners in research processes but are unclear as to how precisely to foster this dialogue. This paper considers how dialogic encounter can be encouraged through �trading zones� where academics and practitioners collaborate. We draw on our experience of conducting research on women on boards for over 15 years to examine (a) how we established and evolved our role within trading zones in this field, achieving impact on policy and business practice, and (b) how we interfaced between trading zones and the academic field, thereby enabling cross-fertilization of ideas between academics and practitioners. We contribute to literature on research impact by empirically examining and critically evaluating the key characteristics of trading zones. First, trading zones are theorized to be action-oriented. Our analysis reveals how multiple stakeholders collectively redefine the action goals, illustrating the need to expand our understanding of relevant �practitioners� beyond managers. Second, we find that durability of trading zones is crucial because it enables gestation of ideas and reframing problems. Third, we problematize the notion of psychological safety in trading zones, arguing that dialogic capability and the pursuit of impact require acceptance of trade-offs and political manoeuvrings. © 2017 British Academy of Management

Nonstandard work arrangements and configurations of firm and societal systems

In this study, we proposed and empirically confirmed that the use of nonstandard working arrangements (NSWAs) varies according to firm system and societal cluster. Utilizing the configurational, institutional and cultural perspectives, we explored antecedents to the use of four NSWAs across firms in six countries, expanding the scope of variables examined in relation to NSWAs and capturing context as a way of broadening the theory base on the subject. We found a tendency toward greater use of NSWAs among firm systems that foster internal socialization and career advancement over time as well as national contexts that promote employment protection and/or Institutional Collectivism. Finally, we found national context to be a significant determinant of firm system, reinforcing the importance of aligning national with organizational-level antecedents to the study of NSWAs.

Special Issue: Women’s Leadership Development Programs: Lessons Learned and New Frontiers

This special issue specifically addresses women’s leadership development programs, which have grown considerably in recent years. These programs can range from one-off events to strategic activities embedded within larger system-wide change efforts. A growing body of work explores various issues such as program impact (Vinnicombe & Singh, 2003), theory and design of women’s leadership programs (Ely, Ibarra, & Kolb, 2011; Hopkins, O’Neil, Passarelli, & Bilimoria, 2008), embedding women’s leadership development within systemic gender equity change initiatives (Bilimoria & Liang, 2012), single-sex program designs (Anderson, Vinnicombe, & Singh, 2008; Debebe, 2011; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2002, 2003), and methodological issues in impact evaluation (Jarvis, Gulati, Mcririck, & Simpson, 2013). Two additional emerging areas include multiple identities (Debebe & Reinert, 2014) and the supporting role of men (Burke & Major, 2014; Simmons, 1996). We invite submissions that consider a variety of issues related to women’s leadership programs from a scholarship of teaching and learning perspective. Leadership and management development refer to learning and growth over the course of a person’s career, contributing to increasing role effectiveness (Velsor, McCauley, & Moxley, 1998; Wexley & Baldwin, 1986). Our conception of leadership development is rooted in the notion of transformational learning (Mezirow, 1991). Put simply, transformational learning is a process resulting in deep and significant change in habitual patterns of thinking and doing, resulting in new approaches to role enactment. A transformational learning perspective shifts the focus from course content, assessment, and feedback to the process, nature, and context of deep learning and change at individual and systemic levels.The quest to develop talent across all workforce segments coupled with the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in organizations across the globe has led to increasing demand for women’s leadership development programs (WLDPs) over recent years. This special issue, titled Women’s Leadership Development Programs: Lessons Learned and New Frontiers, considers the use of these programs to foster transformational change (Anderson, Vinnicombe, & Singh, 2008; Debebe, 2011; Vinnicombe & Singh, 2002, 2003; Bilimoria, Joy, & Liang, 2008; Bilimoria & Liang, 2012; Ely & Meyerson, 2000; Fletcher, 2004). In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of transformational learning and change at the individual and organizational levels and go on to highlight five key themes in the literature on women’s leadership programs, identifying some of the questions and issues that motivated this special issue. We then provide a description of each article included in the special issue before concluding with some thoughts on fruitful directions for future research on women’s leadership programs.